Most businesses providing expert professional services – financial advisory practices being one example – think that clients are buying expertise and professional knowledge. This is why there is so much emphasis on products, technical know-how and qualifications. But is this what clients are really buying? Knowing what you are doing is extremely important but very…

I was recently listening to someone telling the story of how they had begun a new and exciting phase of their life by starting a small business. It was something they had thought about doing in the past but had never got beyond this stage. Not until they had a conversation with their financial planner.…

If you are building your practice then having an increasing number of people seeking you out and wanting to work with you is the ideal situation. What could be better than having great conversations with interested people and hearing them say the magic words… ‘So, where do we go from here?’ Is this a…

Although the term ‘sales’ can have negative connotations these days, if you are providing a professional service then engaging new clients and re-engaging existing ones is often an important part of your business. So, what can give you a significant advantage? A while back I came across some research that is both eye-opening and food…

Rapport is the presence of harmony, trust and cooperation between people. It is like the oil in the machine of a relationship – without it things will soon grind to a halt. The thing about rapport is that it exists on different levels. What is fine for a superficial, transactional relationship is highly likely to…

Trust is often thought of in terms of behaviours – do trustworthy behaviours and people will trust you. Also, in financial services many people believe that technical mastery is something that builds trust. The idea being that if you have qualifications and professional designations, then this leads to higher trust. I am not discounting these,…

As a financial practitioner it is easy to only talk to your clients about products, investments and financial matters. Why? Because it is comfortable for you. It is where you feel safe. It is what you know about. But this isn’t where the real juice in the relationship is – not for you or your…

In my recent post ‘No pressure selling and influence part 2’ I touched upon the fact that humans are not driven by reason and logic – we are driven by emotion. Our behaviour is driven by our feeling state. The decisions we make come from how we feel. And what we are all ultimately looking for…

“If the only thing people learned was not to be afraid of their experience, that alone would change the world.” Sydney Banks Being a powerful influencer is a vital aspect of your role with clients and yet it is something that advisers can be uncomfortable with. In part 1 of this article we looked at the…

“This is what it means to serve: improving another’s life and, in turn, improving the world.” Daniel H. Pink, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others Being an effective influencer and confidently selling your services are essential skills if you want to build a thriving practice based upon getting great results for your…